Shard of Nightmare - Prologue
by UnholyCatharsis
Summary: Within the holy trinity of Nayru, Din, and Farore, there is a fourth sister goddess. The forgotten goddess of fear and dread, Efra, who has bided her time until she can escape the void she'd been imprisoned for so long is finally beginning to make her move. Her target? The one blessed by the Triforce of Courage.


***A/N: This story is based on the leaked fake title "Legend of Zelda: Shard of Nightmare" that was supposedly going to be announce at this years E3. Please enjoy and more chapters will be uploaded soon.* **

**Prologue**

The air grows silent as the final blow is struck. The dark tower that once served as Ganons fortress now nothing more than broken and jumbled stones scattered along the floor. Even without the blade of evils bane, the Master Sword, the hero of time was still able to defeat the beastly Ganon. The barrier he'd erected to keep the Princess and her powers of light out fade before the Demon King is banished and sealed from this realm. With his passing, the sun breaks through the clouds that had shrouded the world in darkness. Link looks over at Zelda. Peace is restored to the land of Hyrule.

Fast forward several generations.

The armies of Twilight have been pushed back. Ganon's plan has failed once more and the hero Link stand victorious. Midna, the proper ruler of the Realm of Twilight has been returned to power. Balance is restored to both worlds, peace follows suit.

Fast forward several more generations.

The land is covered by the sea and the winds fill the sails of all ships. This story draws to a close as the sword of evils bane is once again used to defeat the evil king Ganondorf. With Princess Zelda and the seas safe from his rule, peace is returned to-

"Boring. Boring boring boring. It's always the same thing. History always repeats itself. The hero of time always triumphs."

A hand caresses the dark orb that holds the events that unfold over time, each adventure swirling within the abyss of the crystalline ball. A dark fingernail taps the orb, making a small tinkling sound ring out in the otherwise empty dimension of shadow and darkness. A delicately pale hands lifts the orb up to woman's face, red eyes peering out from behind the black and dark purple masquerade bird mask. Eyes stare into the orb scenes play out in a jumble. All at different times, all in different eras, always the same ending. A silence pervades the air before before the woman drops the orb and it vanishes into the darkness without a sound.

"Slau." She says in a commanding voice, a voice used to summon ones lowly servants. Out of the eternal darkness a creature emerges, hovering in the nothingness in a long, hooded cloak. The only decorations being the gold lining and the emblem of a dying raven stitched into the hood.

"Y-you called, my goddess?"

The woman stands from her previously seated position, though what she was sitting on and what she is currently standing on is a mystery as this world contains no substance save for the eternal black. Anything and everything bends to the will of the goddess. She walks over to the hooded figure and looks it over, it's quavering body not hidden from her eyes under the mass of cloth. The woman huffs lightly, making the cloaked figure twitch in surprise, before she walks past him and leans on something, staring into the abyss before her.

"Do you fear me, Slau?"

"Of course, my goddess." The answer is rehearsed, practiced, and true.

"Are there any that don't fear me?" She continued, extending her hands and making another scrying orb appear in her hand.

"No, my goddess. All things fear you. Creatures, nature, even the rocks fear you, my goddess." Another rehearsed line, another true statement. However, despite the number of times she'd heard this, and despite the number of times she'd sighed when she was told. Today was different. Today, the woman smiled, staring into the swirl of events that unfolded in her scrying orb.

"Incorrect." The statement made Slau jump in a bundle of nerves, his eyes, though hidden, contained fear unlike any he'd felt before.

"P-please, f-forgive me, my goddess." He bowed his head low, not understanding but not needing to. He felt that his time serving his goddess was up, his short life of millenia at her side was now coming to an end. On any other day, this no doubt would have been the case. But no, today was different. The goddess continued speaking, a small amount of glee in her voice.

"I have, for the longest of times, been left baffled by a single soul that defies my very nature. The one that knows fear but does not quake it it's presence, but instead draws strength from it. The one bestowed the grace of my dear, sweet sister."

The swirling mists of the scrying orb began to become clear and a single person could be made out. A small boy sleeping in a stack of hay. Nothing but a country bumpkin to any who knew him, even to the boy himself he was nothing more. However nothing escaped the eyes of the goddess and the faint golden glow of the piece of the Triforce embedded in his body shone through the darkness of this world almost blindingly.

"Yes. Dear, sweet Farore. The child who's soul you've blessed with a courage to face any foe. Courage that defies all odds. Courage that keeps me at bay..." The orb is crushed within the palm of the goddess, the light disappearing and once more shrouding this world in complete and total black. "But you have given me a chance this time, haven't you? Not all the pieces are in place yet and the power of my three sisters are weakened."

Efra stares into the black abyss before her, but the darkness isn't complete. A sliver of dim light pervades the perfection that is this world of complete shadow. A doorway to the outside world.

"Let us see what it is the one blessed with courage fears..."


End file.
